NAB Show drives your Monday - Hill primed for restart - Cyber votes are imminent - And what about a real, live immigration bill? - More H-1B info to come this week

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With help from Tony Romm, Steve Friess, Jessica Meyers and Michelle Quinn

HILL PRIMED FOR RESTART — The House and Senate are back in action this week, and, to quote the classic Will Ferrell flick “Elf,” your MT-er is really psyched out of his mind about it. There’s plenty on the Hill’s docket this week, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Driving your Monday is ...

NAB SHOW KICKS OFF IN VEGAS — The National Association of Broadcasters’ annual event takes top billing today, with no shortage of sessions MT Nation is going to want to follow. Here’s the rundown for Monday: NAB CEO Gordon Smith kicks things off at 9 a.m. with a chat alongside News Corp’s Chase Carey and House telecom chairman Rep. Greg Walden. At 10:30 a.m., the FCC’s Matthew Berry and Alex Hoehn-Saric are among panelists taking a broad look at public policy issues popping up this year. Things get spectrum-specific at 2:30 p.m., as Comcast, T-Mobile and AT&T reps talk about the incentive auctions. And FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai leads a session on revitalizing AM radio at 3 p.m.. By the way, Pro’s Steve Friess is there — if you are too, don’t be a stranger.

— SMITH HOPES TO NOT OPPOSE OBAMA FCC PICK: Steve caught up with the NAB head honcho ahead of the trade show’s opening, where the former senator offered a peculiarly round-about vote of confidence regarding the president’s pick to replace FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “Once it is announced, we will announce whether or not we will oppose it,” he said. “I hope we can be supportive of both the Democratic and Republican nominees.” He was candid that the changeover is “an opportunity to make our case anew” after a Genachowski tenure notable for the chairman’s focus on shaking loose some spectrum from broadcasters’ control to the benefit of the mobile industry. When Steve noted the NAB’s statement on Genachowski’s departure last month was cold and clinical, Smith laughed — and agreed. “He came in with his mind made up that the world of tomorrow was the world of broadband and diminished broadcast. We don’t see the world like that.”

— HANDICAPPING WHO’S NEXT: The chatter at pre-convention festivities was obviously over who President Barack Obama will pick as Genachowski’s replacement and whether the letter signed by 37 senators pushing Jessica Rosenworcel will do the trick. Smith called the letter “very unusual” and said the White House would “have to take notice of such a letter.” And he acknowledged some NAB members are nervous about Tom Wheeler, the top outside name floating around. “Some are concerned in that he represented cable and telephone that he might have some bias against us,” Smith said. “It might be that he has extra incentive not to be biased against us.”

BACK IN D.C., IMMINENT CYBER VOTES AT TOP OF MIND — The House beginning today hits the gas pedal on the lagging Hill cybersecurity debate, as all eyes are on the Intel Committee and its coming markup of CISPA. The word on K Street: Markup is likely April 10, though it could change and the committee hasn't specified a date. Either way, committee action on the bill seems likely this week, as the House aims to vote on CISPA and a series of related measures come April 15, as sources previously told POLITICO.

For now, keep an eye on CISPA's authors, Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger — it's possible the duo could unveil a few privacy-minded amendments to the bill ahead of the markup, which will be done in closed session (as is customary for House Intel). Both lawmakers, in interviews with POLITICO over the past four weeks, have pledged some new limitations on how data would be collected by companies and used by those entities exchanging cyberthreat information, but, for now, there's no text available. We're tracking.

BILLS, BILLS, BILLS: IS AN IMMIGRATION MEASURE THIS WEEK’S DESTINY? — More than two months after Senate lawmakers first unveiled a framework for a comprehensive immigration overhaul, Congress returns to a race between chambers over whose negotiators will first put a real legislative proposal on the table. The upper chamber’s Gang of Eight had aimed to hand out guiding principles before the break, but battles over low-skilled immigration held them up —and even though it doesn’t sound like there’s too much disagreement about what the high-skilled reforms would look like, tech observers need to watch out for any stumbling block that could derail the legislative train. Heading into the week, we know that Senate Judiciary Republicans are demanding the negotiators brief their committee staff by the end of the day, and House negotiators — a group that includes Rep. Zoe Lofgren — may also unveil a plan before next weekend. Nothing’s for sure yet, but you’re going to want to be prepared — so it’s a good thing Jake Sherman and Carrie Budoff Brown have you covered with five things to watch in the immigration debate: http://politi.co/ZcoenG

GOOD MONDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where we got — wait for it — sunburned this weekend. We can’t say we’re thrilled about it, but it’s at least a different feeling than continuing to be pissed at Mother Nature over a chilly spring. If this is what we’ve got to endure to officially ring in the warmth, then so be it. You’re welcome.

BACK IN THE REAL WORLD: IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS TO RELEASE MORE H-1B INFO THIS WEEK — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services intends to release more information this week about the H-1B petition program, the agency said when it announced late Friday that it was closing the application window for the temporary worker visas. With Congress debating changes to the visa program as a piece of immigration overhaul, one key stat to look for is the demand for the visas this year. In 2008, the last time the visa window closed as quickly as this year, there were 163,000 petitions for the 65,000 slots. Others things to note — which firms are asking for the visas and ultimately who is awarded them.

— POLITICAL SPIN THIS YEAR FOR H-1Bs: Some supporters of expanding the visa program quickly put out statements Friday saying the high demand for the visas is evidence that Congress needs to expand the program. But Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, had a different take. “I think the data are very clear — the majority of the H-1Bs are being snapped up for offshoring and cheaper workers,” he said in an email. “No surprise that the cap gets hit. Employers have an insatiable appetite for wage arbitrage….This is just one more indicator that the wage floors need to be raised substantially and American workers should have a first and legitimate shot at these jobs.”

— NEXT STEPS: LOTTERIES: USCIS will hold a pair of lotteries: First, the agency will hold a lottery to select 20,000 petitioners who have advanced degrees and are exempted from the 65,000 cap. Those not selected will be part of a random drawing for the 65,000 H-1B visas — though we don’t yet know on which day that process will take place.

** Next week, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® showcases the innovative technologies that are at the center of tech policy debates at “CES on the Hill” (www.CE.org/CESontheHill) and honors U.S. Senator Jerry Moran and U.S. Congressmen Greg Walden and Jared Polis at the Digital Patriots Dinner. **

AHEAD OF BUDGET, OBAMA TOUTS R&D — President Barack Obama isn't set to unveil his new budget until later this week, but he did offer a nod to some of the top-level priorities over the weekend. And, as expected, science and tech figure high on the list: Obama in his weekly radio address emphasized the need for investment in "high-tech manufacturing" and new job-training initiatives. It's not much of a surprise to the D.C. tech crowd, though, who has heard similar messages from the president now for years, and under whom science, tech and R&D spending has grown by millions of dollars.

ROUNDING OUT THE SCHEDULE: SENATE COMMERCE TO LOOK AT RURAL COMMUNICATIONS: Lawmakers are set Tuesday morning to examine the state of rural communications and the industry’s challenges at the year’s first hearing for Sen. Mark Pryor’s communications, technology and internet subcommittee. Officials with an array of broadband and telecom companies are set to testify: Ritter Communications, CenturyLink, BOYCOM Cablevision and U.S. Cellular will all be represented. Legislators over the last few months haven’t been shy about writing the FCC about releasing more Connect America Fund cash, so we’d expect that issue, among others, to get some play this week.

— HJC SUBPANEL EYES DOJ: Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner’s investigations subpanel conducts a justice department oversight hearing Wednesday morning. The committee hasn’t announced yet who will be representing Eric Holder’s agency, but Judiciary releases ahead of the event make it clear that lawmakers will be looking chiefly at wasteful spending at the department. Of course, we’re also keeping an eye out for chatter about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. MT Nation knows that law and potential reforms of it have been a popular topic of debate so far this year — particularly among the tech crowd.

— AND ... HOUSE TELECOM PANEL CONSIDERS INTERNET GOVERNANCE: Lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday will pick up a bill to reinforce the U.S. commitment to an Internet “free from government control.” It’s essentially the same measure that passed both houses last year, although new passage would classify the stance as U.S. policy rather than just a sense of Congress. Committee members are touting the move as necessary after the WCIT last year exemplified threats to the Internet.

ICYMI: W.H. SOUNDS OFF ON CHINA LANGUAGE — Breaking late Friday, from Tony Romm: "A move by Congress to limit U.S. government purchases from Chinese technology firms isn't sitting well with the Obama administration, which raised serious red flags with the provision Friday. To the White House, the restriction 'could prove highly disruptive without significantly enhancing the affected agencies’ cybersecurity,' a spokeswoman told POLITICO." MORE: http://politico.pro/Y7cmTZ

DOMAIN REGISTRY JOINS I2COALITION AS KEY ICANN MEETINGS KICK OFF — Afilias, the group that operates the .info registry as well as other ones around the globe, is signing on to the newly formed Internet advocacy coalition. It’s the first registry to sync up with i2Coalition, and the announcement comes as ICANN’s 46th public meeting launches in Beijing this week. Tech observers are keeping a close eye on that meet-up, as ICANN’s implementation of new generic top-level domains is set for less than three weeks away — undoubtedly highlighting some key public policy issues that groups like i2 will be acting on.

DEBUTING TODAY: POLITICO Pro unveils ‘Pro Report,’ an end of the day newsletter exclusively for Pros, featuring the most essential policy news that broke since the morning cycle. The roundup also offers a sneak peek into the next day’s biggest story lines. Pro Report will be sent to all Pro readers by 6 p.m. every weekday and published later that evening on POLITICO’s home page. An excerpt of the newsletter will also appear in the next morning’s print edition. Want to be a Pro? E-mail info@politicopro.com.

SPORTS IS THE KING OF THE PLANET OF THE APPS — CBS Interactive senior vice president Jason Kint closed up the one-day pre-NAB Second Screen Society's conference with some intriguing data from Super Bowl XLVII, which he said was the biggest live-TV social media event in history. The network raked in between $10-12 million in ad revenue via its Super Bowl app and 3 million unique IP addresses were logged as watching on "second screens" — usually while also watching the game live, Kint said. Mobile use, in fact, was highest when there were lulls in the game itself. The most fascinating data point: Over 41 percent of TV-related tweets are about live sporting events — and live sporting events are only 1.3 percent of TV programming.

— AND ONE MORE THING: CBS's Super Bowl app gave users four additional camera angles to choose from and the power to replay video and commercials of their own choosing. The March Madness app does not provide such power, so Pro’s Steve Friess asked Kint whether they would have allowed people to use their mobile devices to go back and watch the gruesome Kevin Ware injury from the Louisville-Duke game. He immediately said no, then started wondering aloud if they'd actually thought through that situation and how exactly they would deal with it. CBS replayed the injury only once and from a distance, a sensitivity that helped prevent mass complaints from viewers to the FCC. On mobile, presumably, that wouldn't be the concern, but good taste is still a priority, Kint said.

** CEA represents more than 2,000 companies and owns and produces the International CES®. Over 20 members are a part of this year's CES on the Hill event, including American Automation & Communications, AT&T, BlackBerry, DIRECTV, DISH Network, ecoATM, Google, HealthSpot, HTC, Intel, LG, Livio, Microsoft, Panasonic, Pandora, Qualcomm, Samsung, Verizon and Voxx International Corp. New for this year, CES on the Hill will include a showcase area for startup entrepreneurs like Dock-n-Lock, FutureDash Corp, Phone2Action and Troop ID.

The exhibitors at CES on the Hill exemplify what CEA calls “Ninja Innovators” in its newest book, Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses. At CEA, we believe the U.S. government needs to embrace a “ninja” strategy of its own and focus on policies that will ensure America remains the best place in the world for innovators and entrepreneurs to thrive. Read more at http://www.ce.org/Ninja-Innovation.aspx **